Even If You Could Shatter Tomorrow
by QueenCheetah
Summary: AU- A bleak, dystopian future... a cryptic riddle of genetics and blood... and two amateur assassins whose targets might hold the only key to saving their world. ...no pressure! Tendershipping BxR, Bronzeshipping MxM
1. Passed-out Prowler

"Oh, _wow_... listen to this headline: ' _Young University Student Found Brutally Murdered in Alley Behind Bookstore_ '..."

"I swear, Ryou; you're the only nerd in our entire school who actually reads the _paper_!" The blonde-haired teen snorted as he sat on top of his own desk. "Come and join the 21st century already, like the rest of the us! If you want the news, just look it up on your phone or something!"

The other 17-year old frowned at his long-time friend. "Malik, my neighbor paid for this newspaper subscription before he was called back to Hong Kong for a three-year business contract- and he asked me to make sure they didn't pile up while he was gone."

"That doesn't mean you have to _read_ them! Why not use them as bedding for your hamster or something?"

Ryou Bakura nearly sighed as he reminded his classmate of the obvious. "Because I don't _have_ a hamster- or any other pets. Besides, I like reading the real paper."

"Oh yes, the black smudges _really_ accentuate your ivory skin."

Ryou didn't bother responding- he knew how his daily routine must look to his best friend.

But even as Malik's attention drifted, he continued silently scanning the article he'd mentioned. 'How gruesome... '19-year old Hisoka Kato was walking home from Domino University's campus when he met with a grisly fate... he was found dead and disemboweled, with several organs removed, barely three hours after he was reported missing. An average student, Mr. Kato may have been the latest victim of the unnamed serial killer that seems to be prowling the Shigure prefecture of Japan... dubbed 'The Viceroy' because he carves a 'V' shape into all of his victims...'

Ryou quickly folded up the newspaper and placed it neatly inside his backpack just as the teacher stepped inside the classroom. The rest of the day at Domino High was very typical- the lessons were average, the cafeteria food was far-less-than-average, and the walk home was quiet and dull.

Ryou Bakura unlocked the front door of his family's two-story house. He didn't bother announcing his arrival- no one else would hear him. His father was rarely given reprieve from his work, and his mother and only sister had died years ago in an accident.

The lonely youth turned on the television and let the sounds fill the living room. It gave him some comfort, and he began digging through his backpack for his daily assignments. Two hours later, Ryou was just finishing his homework, when a familiar rumble came from his stomach. He turned off the TV before placing the completed papers back inside his backpack.

'I suppose I'd better start working on some sort of dinner...hmm...' The pale youth frowned as he tried to plan a decent meal. He stepped in the empty kitchen, glancing around for ideas. 'I haven't had stir-fry in a while; maybe I should try that... but where did I put the wok...' Ryou knelt down in front of the stone counter-top and opened the largest cabinet door. He began rifling around the various pots and pans, nearly yelping when a colander almost fell on him. 'This is ridiculous... there's just too many large pots here... I need to look at this more methodically...'

The pale boy stepped backwards, sighing as he did so. 'Maybe if I took the bigger pieces and set them on the table first... that should make it easier to find the wok.' The white-haired teen reached in and grabbed a long-handled skillet. 'I'll move this first.' Ryou absentmindedly threw his right arm behind him, planning on dropping the heavy skillet on the kitchen table.

 _ ***THWAM!***_

Ryou jumped up, startled by the reverberations still ringing through the metal frying pan. "What on Earth...?!" He turned to see what furniture item he'd accidentally smacked. His hickory eyes widened in disbelief as he glanced down at the now-covered floor.

Apparently he hadn't hit a chair-leg or a tabletop- instead, he'd hit another young man. Now there was a crumpled figure, draped in black, lying unconscious on his kitchen floor.

A strange guy had somehow broken into his house, and had clearly been about to confront him when Ryou accidentally knocked him unconscious.

"Oh no, oh no..." Key phrases from the ghastly newspaper article he'd read that morning suddenly flooded his mind. Terrified, Ryou did the first thing that came to mind and pulled out his cell phone. In his panic, he ended up instinctively dialing his best friend, rather than the local police.

"Malik?! C-can you come over? Something really disturbing has just happened..."

There was a loud gasp from the other end, and in a stage whisper the Egyptian teen replied teasingly: "You mean _you_ managed to snag a hot boyfriend before _I_ did?!"

Ryou rarely lost his temper when it came to his friends, but right now his fuse was rather short. _"THIS IS SERIOUS!"_

There was a stunned pause before the bronzed teen retorted. "Fine, fine, _sheesh_ \- I'll be there in five minutes."

Ryou hastily added, "please _hurry_!" But the line had already gone dead. After slipping his phone back in his pocket, the nervous homeowner glanced downwards at the still-silent figure.

The white-haired intruder was dressed in a black, worn leather jacket. His face was even gaunter and lighter than Ryou's own. He also had many strange scars and bruises on his body.

'Is... is he a drug-addict?!'

Swallowing his fear, Ryou managed to grab some old rope from the house's tiny attic and quickly tied up the stunned trespasser. He had just about finished when he heard the front door being loudly flung open, and assumed it was his brash friend.

"I'm in the kitchen, Malik!" Ryou called towards the front hall. _'And boy, you're never going to guess what's happened this time...'_

But then a voice shouted back that was NOT his friend's.

" _ **Bakura!**_ "

"Huh?!" Ryou nearly yelped as another stranger suddenly burst into his kitchen. This man was well-muscled, tall, and had very dark skin. He looked somewhat like Malik, what with his wild blonde hair and bronzed physique.

But it definitely wasn't Malik.

"Oh cr*p..." The light-haired entrant cursed when he saw the knocked out form spread across the floor. "Bakura?! Bakura, it's Marik! Damn, what the h*ll happened..."

" _Who the heck are you?!"_ Ryou cried out as the second intruder began examining the first. The homeowner's words were ignored, however; as the anxious blonde continued testing the other's pulse.

"Sh*t- _alive_ , but _unconscious_... how do I even report this..." Ryou felt himself flinch as the second burglar took out a small pocket knife and began cutting through the ropes on his partner's limbs.

Meanwhile, the front door was flung open for a second time, followed by another loud voice calling from the front hall.

"Ryou? Ryou, are alri- _HOLY SH*T!_ " Malik gasped as he came into the small galley. His lavender eyes widened as he took in the strange scene. " _What the h*ll is going on here?!_ "

But before anyone could reply, there was an odd grunt from the floor.

"Urgh... wha..." The white-haired prowler was finally beginning to regain consciousness. "The h*ll..."

"Bakura, are you alright?!" The other burglar hastily glanced over the first, his face showing relief. "You took a really nasty blow to the head- what happ- _URK_!"

The blonde criminal was suddenly silenced as the paler of the pair grabbed his throat with surprising speed. He almost seemed to growl out his words, and his scarlet eyes were narrowed with broiling fury. " _What happened_ , my _dear_ , old _friend_ ; is that _someone_ -" here the paler man's grip seemed to tighten on the other's neck- "foolishly _mixed up_ the order addresses, and now we've been outed to our **own targets**!"

The brawnier intruder seemed horrified by this realization, and didn't move even after his throat was released. "Wait... so this is..."

" _HIS_ house!" The now-seated thief scowled as he pointed emphatically at Ryou. "Which means _y_ _ou're_ supposed to be lying here on the floor right now, NOT me!"

Bewildered, Malik did the only thing he could think of, and raised his hand. "Um, question? What the h*ll is going on here, and why are you two in Ryou's house?"

But the bronzed student was ignored by the large, dark-skinned intruder. "News flash, you scrawny loser: I wouldn't have been knocked unconscious by such a runt of an opponent! Try lifting some weights for once, you lazy fool!"

"Weights don't mean _jack_ when you're trying for stealth and speed!" The man evidently known as 'Bakura' snapped back aggressively. "Besides, he didn't intentionally _hit_ _me_ \- I was struck by a-"

 _*TWEE-EEEEEET!*_

"AAAGHHH!" The two intruders howled in pain as a piercing sound reverberated through their skulls.

Ryou was now standing by one of the kitchen drawers, a blue whistle resting in his right hand as he glared at the trespassers. He gestured towards his friend, who had clearly been forewarned of the audible attack. "I think it's high time you gave us both an explanation."

Malik nodded in agreement as he lowered his hands from his ears. He knew that Ryou kept an emergency whistle in one of the kitchen drawers in case the neighbor's large dog ever got loose. Although it had proven equally effective against the two strays now glaring up at them from the tiled floor.

The gaunter of the duo grumbled as he got to his feet. "Well great- now what the **** do we do?"

"We can still take them both out." 'Marik' suggested casually. His face fell, however, when he saw that the pair in question had already armed themselves with several knives from the nearby cutting block.

"Perhaps if _you_ hadn't been so foolish as to rush inside without forethought or planning..." 'Bakura' hissed as he re-evaluated their options. "...you would have realized things were still under control. I would've regained consciousness eventually, and could've finished it then."

The darker man snorted in disbelief. "Tch, and how would you have managed _that_?"

" _Some of us_ prefer to rely on the element of surprise rather than brute strength." The pale one snapped.

"And _were_ you surprised?" Marik replied mockingly, earning him two aggressive middle fingers from his compatriot.

"Look, this is all very amusing, but I really think you two should be heading back to wherever you came from now." Ryou frowned, his features unusually stony as he spoke. The polished knife blades still in his and Malik's hands glistened threateningly. "You're too young to be screwing up your lives with a police record; but, if you leave **now-** I won't call the cops."

"Oh? How very _generous_ of you." Bakura replied with a smirk as he took a step forward. "I do _love_ how you've arrived at the inaccurate conclusion that we don't _already_ have expansive criminal records." The mirrored smirk on Marik's face seemed to confirm that he shared a similar reputation. "But I'm afraid there's one problem with your oh-so-kind offer- mainly, it would only be worth something if we **had** something to lose."

The two slightly-older males leered down at their shorter counterparts, both sporting nasty grins as they leaned over the frightened teens.

"And unfortunately for you two... _w_ _e_ _have_ _nothing_ _to lose._ " Bakura soon raised his right arm, revealing a strange-looking blade. Ryou knew he wouldn't be able to escape in time, but maybe there was hope for Malik. Spotting an exit, Ryou tried to shove his friend away, but the blonde didn't budge. It was clear that the bullheaded blonde wasn't going to leave his companion.

Meanwhile, the pale intruder started to give a dark chuckle, before stopping suddenly. He let out a wracking cough as his body gave a horrible shudder. "Hah-ha- _ACK_!- ugh..." The white-haired criminal let out a sharp gasp as he grabbed his left side. " _Sh*t_..." Apparently he was suffering some sort of internal shock, and his pale limbs began shuddering convulsively.

Malik snorted in disdain as he watched the man twitch. "Serves you right, you strung-out junkie!"

"These aren't _withdrawal symptoms_ , you nimrod! It's- _A_ _R_ _GH!_ " The exhausted adolescent soon fell to his knees, unable to stand. His breathing grew harsh and ragged as he wrestled with the pain in his abdomen.

"Bakura?!" The dark-skinned invader knelt down next to his comrade, clearly concerned. But the other young man's eyes were closed as he massaged the flesh on his left side.

"Dammit... I think those scumbags were wrong... 'ten more years' my *ss." Bakura hissed angrily. He then turned to his friend and bitterly admitted: "Marik... it's over. We've failed. Evidently I have less time than you- go. Run. Bring back my body if you have to, but then you need to get away."

Marik's amethyst eyes were wide as he felt his tongue growing thick. "This wasn't supposed to happen..." The muscular cohort trailed off, clearly lost.

Bakura snorted. "A lot of sh*t wasn't supposed to happen, but guess what? It did! It did anyway, and now it's over. Now get the h*ll out of here- I don't wanna be stuck next to your useless corpse for the next few decades!"

"But the training options..."

"The options all _suck_! You need to get away! NOW!"

Ryou gently placed one arm around the other's elbow, hoping to guide him to a nearby chair. But the initial trespasser only snapped in ungrateful ire.

"I don't need your d*mn sympathy!"

Starting to get the gist of the pair's attitudes, Ryou sighed before he responded. "Well, call it a peace offering after I beaned you in the forehead earlier."

"Tch- whatever." The still-shaking burglar reluctantly accepted the aid and was led to a nearby chair. _'Well this sucks... what the h*ll do we do now?!'_


	2. Evasive Explanation

_Ryou gently placed one arm around the other's elbow, hoping to guide him to a nearby chair. But the intruder only snapped in ungrateful ire._

" _I don't need your d*mn sympathy!"_

 _Starting to get the gist of the pair's attitudes, Ryou sighed before he responded. "Well, call it a peace offering after I beaned you in the forehead earlier."_

" _Tch- whatever." The still-shaking youth reluctantly accepted the aid and was led to a nearby chair._

Ryou glanced concernedly at the grimacing burglar. "Um, would you like a glass of water?"

"No." Bakura snapped harshly before turning on his comrade. "And what are _you still doing here?!_ I told you to get out!"

"How about... NO." Marik replied, casually twirling a blonde lock between his dark fingers. "I think I'll stay here and watch you suffer, instead."

"You sentimental, stubborn _jack*ss_!" The seated man seethed as his friend stood, not moving. "I'm _ORDERING YOU_ to _**GO**_!"

"Hmm... nope, not happening." Ryou noticed that this 'Marik' guy seemed to be almost enjoying his friend's duress. "After all, we're both level 1 Reapers- which means you can't order me around." The darker intruder's eyes glistened with a hint of mischief and delight.

"I'm older _and_ smarter, which means you have to listen to me!"

"Oh?" Marik began nonchalantly cleaning his right ear with his pinkie finger. "So enlighten me: if you're so much smarter, then why do you have a giant bruise forming on your forehead?"

"You... you-!" Clearly eager to beat some sense into his partner, but held back by his weakened body, 'Bakura' let out a frustrated bellow.

" _ARRRRGHHHH!"_ He kicked out wildly, to no avail. "THIS SUCKS! We didn't come all this way just for us both of us to get killed on the first test! I'm ordering you, in the name of all that is unholy, to - _ **F*CK- OFF!**_ "

Marik started to retort, but both of the trespassers were stunned when Ryou suddenly smacked the white-haired thief upside the head with a rolled-up magazine.

* _T_ _HWAP_ _!_ *

The shortest male in the kitchen frowned down at the seated stalker. "First of all, I don't tolerate bad language in my house. Secondly, there's no need to shout- this is a nice, quiet neighborhood and I respect my fellow residents. But if you insist on making a fuss I'll be certain to call the cops. _If_ my neighbors don't beat me to it. Got it?" Ryou pointed the rolled-up magazine towards the bewildered pair. Apparently the homeowner had given Malik his share of the kitchen knives before picking up the less-lethal instrument.

Marik appeared just as stunned as Bakura, but then he began laughing wildly. "You just got told off by your target!"

Ryou felt his concern rising as he gestured softly towards the strange blonde. "Is... is he insane?"

The defeated prowler groaned as he shook his aching head. "Short answer: yes. Long answer: _Definitely_."

Malik seemed a little unnerved by his look-alike's fit as he glanced quizzically at his friend. "Ryou... now would be a great time for a back-up plan."

The other student nodded before glaring at the intruders. "Right. So, here's what's going to happen: you're going to tell us why you're here- the _whole story_ \- and if we believe you, we'll let you go scott-free."

Bakura gave another disdainful snort. "And if we refuse? What makes you think _you_ have any power here?!"

"Well, aside from your unusual injury and our weapons..." Ryou trailed off as Malik lifted the four blades in his grasp, "...you've also already admitted to having a criminal record, and the fact that you've mixed up our addresses tells me you're not familiar with this neighborhood. This is a fairly quiet area, so I'm betting the cops would be glad to haul butt over here within the next few minutes. Given that their headquarters is only six blocks East of here, I'm guessing it'd take them less than five. Maybe more, maybe less- but not exactly a wide margin of error for your 'escape plans'." Ryou's normally innocent face grew slightly smug as he gestured towards the front hall. "So, by all means, go ahead- take the gamble. Play the risk. But if you truly have 'nothing to lose,' like you said, I think you would've already scarpered." Bakura's jaw nearly dropped as he listened to the suddenly confident teen. "So yes, I am calling your bluff, and I'm letting you know exactly who has the power here."

Evidently impressed, Marik gave another grin as he pointed one thumb towards the brazen homeowner. "I like this one."

Bakura, meanwhile, was trying not to sulk. Here he was, on his first operation, stuck helpless in a chair while _his own target_ lectured him and beat him with a copy of 'Popular Science'!

"Sh*t..." He let out a long breath as he struggled to find some way to salvage the mission. "Fine." Bakura decided the best route was to play along... for now. 'I'll let the little twerp _think_ he's gotten the upper hand, and then I'll snap his neck once this damn pain has subsided.' "To make a long story short- we're time travelers."

" _Time travelers?"_ Both Malik and Ryou repeated the phrase out loud simultaneously. Ryou glanced sideways, sharing a look of disbelief with his long-time friend.

Malik then not-so-quietly whispered: "Ten-to-one he's tripping on LSD or PCP."

Ryou nodded in agreement while Bakura fumed. _"I'm not a d*mned junkie!"_

Malik rolled his eyes and waved one hand in dismissal. "Oh, suuuure- if you're _really_ a time traveler, then prove it."

The white-haired deviant scoffed. "We're not _supposed_ to prove it! Our whole job requires us to retrieve things without being seen!"

"Uh-huh." Evidently Ryou was just as skeptical of the stranger's tale. "And just what year are you from, then?"

"From the year 2209." Marik quickly interjected, much to Bakura's dismay.

"IDIOT! We're not supposed to tell them that!" The frustrated trespasser jumped, as though he wanted to throttle his partner again. But then he was forced back into his seat as wave of exhaustion struck. "...d*mn it."

Marik looked concerned again, and glanced curiously at the other intruder's left wrist. "Shouldn't your SID have warned you that you were about to have an attack? Is something wrong with your implant?"

"Nothing!" The white-haired reaper snarled. "I didn't even get a chance to _use_ it before that _caveman_ went savage on my head!"

"I didn't _mean_ to hit him!" Ryou proclaimed in self-defense. "I was just about to put away a frying pan when he stepped into my path!"

Marik began cackling, clearly amused by his partner's carelessness. "Looks like your 'stealthiness' strategy didn't _pan_ out!"

Malik was staring at his doppelganger in disbelief. "Your friend is hurt, and you're making _puns_?!"

Ryou stuck out his tongue. "Not even good ones, at that."

"Tell me about it." Bakura hissed under his breath. "He's insufferable." The white-haired deviant let out a sigh as he tilted his head backwards. "I'm afraid he's developed a rather... _twisted_ sense of humor thanks to the grim nature of our reality." His scarlet eyes closed for a second as he spoke. "Anyway, the entire situation is so f*cked up now-"

* _T_ _HWAP_ _!_ *

"WILL YOU STOP HITTING ME WITH THAT D*MN MAGAZINE?!" Bakura snarled as he glared at the other white-haired teen.

"Certainly- as soon as you stop cussing like a drunken sailor." Ryou folded his arms, the offending issue still curled in his right hand. "Like I said before: this is _my_ home, and I don't like foul language ringing about the walls like a negative ear-worm."

Bakura wasn't sure whether to laugh or scream. "You think you're a freakin' nun or something?! What the fu- OW!" The deviant yelped as he was, again, thwapped by the accursed publication.

"You're pretty much destined to do that for the rest of his life- Bakura's vocabulary is almost exclusively occupied by four-letter words." Marik replied with a smirk. He seemed rather amused by the pair's antics, and made no move to stop Ryou from hitting his comrade.

Meanwhile, the exhausted captive was huffing as he glared at the other white-haired teen. "As soon as I get my strength back, I'm gonna take that magazine and shove it-" _*THWAP!*_ "-ARGH! What the h*ll?! I didn't even _say_ anything!"

"Yes, because I'm sure your full response was going to be 'I'm going to shove it right back into its rightful spot on your bookshelf.'" Ryou retorted dryly.

Bakura leered at his non-target. "Arrogant little snot... and how would you know?! Maybe I _was_ going to say that!"

Marik instantly chimed in. "He wasn't!"

"Shut up, you idiot!"

Ryou shook his head in disbelief. " _Right_ , so you're saying you're both time travelers?" The studious teen frowned and re-folded his arms. "I'm sorry, but that really makes no sense. Why would someone send somebody nearly our age back in time? I'm assuming this is a complicated and expensive process, so why on Earth would anyone entrust the secret to two teenagers with a drug habit?"

"It's not a dam-er, dang drug habit!" Bakura quickly corrected himself as the magazine reappeared in his line of sight. "It's the whole reason we're here!"

"Alright." Let's say (for the sake of of the argument) that we believe you. So tell us- what _is_ the future like?" Ryou casually queried.

Bakura snorted. "Not much has changed... technology's gotten a lot better, but that's about it. People still suck."

"You mean you can't even describe what's different?" Malik frowned, clearly unconvinced. But Ryou seemed slightly less skeptical than before.

"Actually, Malik; that kinda makes sense. That would be about 200 years from now, right? So, think about how little things have changed since a hundred years before today. It's really not that much- I mean, they still had cars and radios and whatnot- it's not like there was _nothing_ back then."

"Huh... I guess that's _some_ what believable." Malik conceded. "It's pretty disappointing, though- what about jet-packs and virtual reality and all that stuff?!"

Marik shrugged as he spoke. "Virtual reality is mainly used for advanced medical training and spoiled children's video game systems. And just the idea of people having personal jet-packs makes me cringe- I don't know how people are in _this_ time period, but we have some pretty f**king crazy drivers in the future. They're bad enough on the ground, much less in the air."

"How come HE doesn't get his head thwacked?!" Bakura loudly exclaimed as Ryou stayed near his chair.

The pale teen gave him a stern look. "My arms can't reach that far, and you've proved to be the worse offender overall."

"You've gotta be joking... who do you think _taught_ me all those words _in the first place?!_ "

Both Malik and Ryou turned their attention towards the other blonde, who shrugged once again. "Guilty as charged."

Ryou glanced down at the clearly exhausted storyteller. "Okay, I'll stop hitting you; but only if you make an effort to tone down the swearing in the rest of your story, alright?" The polite youth helpfully offered his tired look-alike.

"Fine; whatever." The seated scoundrel was about to say more, when a strange beeping noise loudly interrupted the group.


	3. Embedded Evidence

_Ryou glanced down at the clearly exhausted storyteller. "Okay, I'll stop hitting you; but only if you make an effort to tone down the swearing in the rest of your story, alright?" The polite youth helpfully offered his tired look-alike._

 _"Fine; whatever." The seated scoundrel was about to say more, when a strange beeping noise loudly interrupted the group._

"What's that sound?" Malik glanced around as the cyclic sound continued.

Ryou looked just as baffled by the electronic tones. "It sounds like it's coming from... your pocket?" He pointed at the still-seated Bakura, who snorted.

"Tch- guess again. It's my SID."

Malik looked bewildered. "Your _what?_ "

"A Sub-dermal Implant Device- it's a high-tech communication and information sharing device. Capable of storing tons of information, and displaying it through a thin-yet-flexible quantum-dot OLED touch screen."

"It can play music or videos, send messages, monitor vitals..." Marik added unconcernedly.

The paler trespasser smirked. "You said you wanted proof that we're from the future? Fine. Then check out my left wrist." Bakura tilted his arm and held it out towards his look-alike. Ryou obliged and shifted the limb until the underside of the bandit's wrist was facing him.

The curious teen nearly fainted when he saw what was there.

It was a digital screen. An actual, visible computer screen, blinking and glowing just beneath the guy's skin tissue.

"WHA-?!" Ryou could only stare, unable to comprehend the tiny surface that was now scrolling through several different messages.

'Current date: 11/28/2208- Date of Arrival- 5/10/2018- Date of Exit- 5/13/2018'

'Heart rate: 115 bpm- Status: Elevated- BP: 145/90- Status: Elevated-'

'Current Location: 35.4 N 139.45 L- Target Location: 35.4 N 139.45 L'

'Harvest Status: UNFUFILLED. Organ Status: INAPPLICABLE.'

 **-WARNING: *Dehydration Imminent!* Recommend Sodium and Potassium Additions-**

"Whoa..." Malik felt his own jaw drop open as he watched the glistening pixels traveling just below the pale skin. "What the hell..." The blonde student broke out of his stupor sooner than Ryou did, but he turned as the second burglar stepped forward.

"Mine is a bit brighter, due to the pigmentation..." Marik grinned as he held out his own darkened limb for inspection. Despite the tanned skin, Malik and Ryou could still easily make out a similar screen beneath the tinted flesh:

'Current date: 11/28/2208- Date of Arrival- 5/10/2018- Date of Exit- 5/13/2018'

'Heart rate: 105 bpm- Status: Elevated- BP: 125/90- Status: Elevated-'

'Current Location: 35.4 N 139.45 L- Target Location: 35.4 N 139.45 L'

'Harvest Status: UNFUFILLED. Organ Status: INAPPLICABLE.'

" _Holy_..." Malik gaped blankly at the second device. "Er, Ryou? I know this sounds crazy, but... I'm staring to think these guys might be telling the truth." Malik slowly spoke as he turned his attention back to the first intruder's arm.

"You think?!" Bakura hissed caustically. "Now _let go_ of my wrist; you're twisting it too far!"

"Oops, sorry."

Ryou continued standing still, apparently lost in his own thoughts. After a moment's hesitation, he turned around and quickly grabbed a salt shaker, a banana, and a tall glass of water. He then set them down on the table just behind the seated intruder. "Um, you needed these, right?"

Bakura seemed surprised by the generous gesture. "Er, yeah... thanks."

Apparently Ryou's best friend wasn't quite as astute, and the blonde loudly complained. "Wait, why're you giving him a bunch of random stuff? What, are you trying to help him McGuyver his way outta here?!"

The calmer teen only pointed to the still-beeping wrist-computer. "Malik, that device was flashing a warning that he's low on Sodium, Potassium, and water."

Malik only blinked.

Ryou let out a sigh as he ticked off each item on one hand. "Sodium means salt, Potassium can be found in bananas, and if I really have to explain what 'dehydration' suggests..."

Meanwhile, Bakura quickly poured a bit of salt into the water glass before downing the mixture. He then moved on to the banana, gulping it down like a ravenous stray.

The beeping began to slowly lessen in intensity, until it was no longer audible.

Ryou gestured towards the stainless steel refrigerator. "I also have milk, if you need more Potassium..."

"No need." Bakura wiped off his mouth with his right wrist. "That was more than enough- thanks."

The gracious homeowner sighed. "That's good, but I'm afraid we still have more questions." Malik nodded in agreement while Ryou raised one eyebrow expectantly at the recovering intruder. "Earlier, you and Marik called us your 'targets'- I'm assuming we're not being roped into a spontaneous paintball tournament?"

"Not exactly... you're supposed to be 'harvested'." Bakura admitted darkly. "As in, slaughtered and disemboweled."

"...but that's just like the serial killer in the news...papers..." Malik trailed off, while Ryou's eyes widened in horror.

" _Wait_... you mean, _**YOU'RE**_ THE VICEROY?!" Ryou screeched as he involuntarily jumped backwards from the strangers.

"Again, not quite- there's no real 'Viceroy'- that's just a myth perpetuated by our organization to spread disjuncture amongst this time period's investigative forces. It's not just one man, but a whole group of people sent back to retrieve viable specimens."  
"Wait, so if you're time travelers, then why have you been trying to kill us?" Ryou sounded baffled as he tried to sort out the reason behind the violent visitors. "I doubt either of us is ever going to try and assassinate anyone important..."

"Does Justin Beiber count?" Malik muttered quietly under his breath.

"It's not by choice, or anything that you two end up doing." The other pale teen admitted darkly. "But the future... well, let's just say things really went to sh*t along the way." Bakura nearly flinched as Ryou grabbed the rolled-up magazine again. "Alright, alright; sorry! I curse a lot! But the place we come from is a real sh*thole! It's not exactly a 'high-society' type place! There's no laws, let alone 'manners!'"

"No laws?" Ryou asked curiously, still keeping the 'Popular Science' issue wrapped in his hand.

"Well, technically there's _some_ police around," Bakura admitted, "but they're too busy trying to stop the Organers from outright slaughtering everyone."

"Organers?"

Marik finally chimed in. "Yeah, those nut-bags who get paid to harvest from random people who match whatever rich d****bag decides to hire their services. But the joke's on them- it's futile!"

"..." Ryou and Malik exchanged blank glances.

Bakura nearly facepalmed before speaking. "Right, I forgot about the time difference- see, in the future, people are dropping like flies. It's happening all over the world, and it's being treated almost like a pandemic."

"A pandemic?" The hickory-eyed student frowned. "You mean, a lot of people are dying of disease?"

"Again, it's far more complicated than that- but yes, nearly everyone's dying really young. Some people make it past 50; most don't." Bakura's scarlet eyes narrowed harshly. "The average life expectancy is around 40 right now; but it's projected that it'll be down to 30 in just a few years."

"That's almost Paleolithic..." Ryou whispered in horrified realization.

"But, then why hasn't everyone been isolated and stuff? Like they do in the movies when the zombie outbreak happens?" Malik pointed out more mildly.

"Isolation doesn't matter- it's not contagious, but congenital." Before Marik could make a crude wisecrack Bakura hastily added, "MEANING it's something you're born with." The brawnier blonde pouted as his ally kept elaborating. "Only about 7% of the worldwide population is immune to the inevitable organ failure, and the doctors of our era have no idea why. But it's such a small number, that your chances of killing someone with healthy organs is less than 7 in a hundred. Yet the richer class are so desperate, they'll hire any number of hit-men to kill anyone suspected to be 'better off'."

"That's a lot of dead bodies..." Ryou muttered sadly.

"Right- and it's still pointless because the problem isn't the organs themselves. It's the person's own system. You can change the car's tires as many times as you like, but it's not gonna fix a dead car battery."

"Wait, so people are hiring these 'Organers' to kill others even with almost no chance of success?!" Ryou felt his stomach churn as he felt the underlying insinuation hit home.

Marik nodded grimly, his expression finally souring. "Yep. It's like a pointless genocide; everyone distrusting each other as they struggle to avoid an untimely 'end.'" His dark violet eyes closed for a moment as his voice lowered. "And it's _not_ going to get better. There's rumors of a massive famine being inevitable, because so few workers are able-bodied enough to farm and harvest the crops. They had to drastically lower the enrollment requirements for most medical degrees, because the applicants weren't living long enough to even start practicing afterwards. And a lot of the kids are force to grow up without their parents; whether they've both already succumbed to the disorder, or were slaughtered for spare 'parts.'"

Even Malik's face looked a little green as he listened. "That's awful."

Ryou frowned, clearly not accepting the harshness of the supposed future. "But wait- if you have time travel, why can't you just use that to fix things? Stop the disorder from developing?"

But Bakura shook his head. "Time travel doesn't work like that. You'd eventually run into a contingent fallacy and essentially destroy your own existence."

Even Ryou seemed confused by this statement, so the taller youth sighed as he explained. "Lemme put it this way: you go back in time to the night before Atsuo Ishii's assassination, and-"

Malik promptly interrupted. "Wait, who?"

"'Atsuo Ishii'? The famous humanitarian activist?" Bakura glared skeptically at the shorter blonde.

"I... don't think that's someone from our lifetime." Ryou suggested doubtfully.

The still-seated youth snorted. "Whatever- he was a really radical activist who fought for people's rights all over the world. He was eventually taken out by a lone hand-grenade right before he was supposed to reveal stolen documents proving the Chinese government knew they were poisoning people in the Hunan province."

Marik nodded, as though he'd heard this story before. Bakura didn't pause to allow any questions from their hosts. "Anyway, let's say you were sent back in time the day before he was going to be killed- what would you do? Would you contact his personal security guards? They'd never believe you. Would you write to the press? By the time anyone important would take notice, he would've already have been blown up. It's a fool's errand. There's really nothing you can do to change the past on your own, and sending more people is too expensive and risky. You'd have a better chance of winning the lottery."

"Oh." Ryou looked despondent as he felt the likelihood of the intruder's statements wash over him. "I guess that makes sense, but still... you really can't go back even further and warn people about the impending disorder?"

The red-eyed narrator scowled. "Tch- _of course_ the company's thought of that. But it's pointless. Think about it: if we tried to stop the disorder from developing, and actually succeeded, then we'd be erasing ourselves from existence. Which means we could never go back in the first place."

"A real catch-22." Marik chimed in.

"Right- everyone knows it's impossible." Bakura sighed, starting to show some signs of exhaustion.

"Besides, it took years for them to develop the test to even _identify_ the disorder- how the hell would they manage a cure with older technology in a time where it hasn't even developed yet?"

Ryou fell thoughtfully silent as he mulled over the conundrum in his head.

"But, right now there's an even bigger problem looming on the horizon." The pale trespasser added. "Truth is, we're both being closely monitored," he pointed to Marik as well as himself, "-and we have a dangerous choice to make." He glanced at his hefty comrade, and they exchanged grim looks. "And we're running out of time."


	4. Facing Facts

" _But, right now there's an even bigger problem looming on the horizon." The pale trespasser added. "Truth is, we're both being closely monitored," he pointed to Marik as well as himself, "-and we have a dangerous choice to make." He glanced at his hefty comrade, and they exchanged grim looks. "And we're running out of time."_

"What do you mean, 'running out of time'?! You've both been claiming to be _time travelers_! Or did you forget that 'fact'?" Malik added somewhat snidely.

Bakura ignored the slender blonde's comment and pointedly added, "the problem is, now we've failed in our mission. We didn't manage to kill _either_ of you, nor did we snag your organs to bring back with us. And to the Ashitasu Organization, failure is **not** an option. And soon other Reapers will be sent to hunt us down."

Ryou tilted his head in speculation. "The 'Ashitasu' Organization? That sounds like a portmanteau of the words 'bringing' and 'tomorrow'."

"So, they claim to 'bring you tomorrow,' then?" Malik mused.

Marik scowled in disgust while Bakura went on. "Oh _yes_ \- in fact, they promise the _best_ of health to _anyone_ able to pay them a mountain of gold. But the rest of us plebeians (who currently lack a mountain of gold) simply call them the 'Severers of the Future,' since you could also translate the phrase that way."

The blonde 'Reaper' suddenly snarled, outwardly irritated for the first time. "Don't let the 'cutesy' name fool you- they're a ruthless group of _litera_ _l_ _ly_ cutthroat-investors. And they're eager to make a massive profit by providing the wealthy with the _one_ thing they'll pay _**anything**_ for."

Ryou swallowed in blunt realization. "More time."

" **Yes**."

The pale homeowner felt his stomach churn. "How horrid... so rather than spending all that time and funding on a cure towards the benefit of _everyone;_ instead they're just looking to save the _few_ elite?!"

Bakura nodded grimly. "Rather like if Noah had filled his ark with only one of each animal- it's pointless, as they'll never preserve enough of a gene pool to overcome the underlying issues. But hey, if the world's totally fu-" Ryou's right hand subtly moved towards the nearest magazine, and the paler intruder hastily corrected himself, "-er, _screwed_ anyway,why not go down drowning in champagne and caviar?"

"..."

The white-haired homeowner seemed lost in his own contemplations, but Malik was evidently starting to let his skepticism fade. "Wow, so you guys have really solved how to time travel?!"

" _NO_ , the company we work for has. And believe me, they guard that process more fiercely than any secret on Earth."

"Oh." Malik put one bronzed finger to his chin in thought. "So, you can't go back to, like, Ancient Egypt and be worshiped as gods or something?"

Bakura shook his head and began rapidly counting the reasons off one one hand. "Not possible. First of all, there's the different biological problems (such as ancient bacteria and viruses that our bodies no longer remember how to fight off, for one thing). _Then_ you have the cultural issues, such as the language barrier- we have various texts, but the exact pronunciations and colloquialisms have been lost over time- you'd have no way to learn how to accurately speak the language beforehand. Not to mention, the distance itself would be too great."

"Distance?"

Marik nodded rather firmly. "That would be a trip of _thousands_ of years, not just hundred or so."

Bakura continued with his statements. "It's complicated, but evidently the further back you go, the more strain it puts on your body. It's like putting a plastic doll in a blender- keep it moving slow enough, and you won't do much damage. But set the thing to 'frappe'..."

Ryou's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Ew."

"Exactly." The recovering intruder nodded. "You _might_ be able to manage a one-way trip, but you'd never survive the journey back home."

"Oh."

The group was interrupted by a very faint buzzing noise coming from Marik's wrist. The darkest-skinned teen deftly pressed two buttons in direct succession before glancing back up.

"So _t_ _hat's_ really cell phone?!" Malik stared at the strangely lit square resting beneath the other blonde's skin.

"No, it's a SID- a Sub-dermal Implant Device." Marik explained rather openly. "It certainly does a lot more than a primitive 'cell phone'."

Curious, the 'modern' foreigner moved closer, watching the other's wrist with great interest. "Wow- so, how do you charge it when the battery runs low?"

The other purple-eyed male seemed amused by Malik's astonishment, and he somewhat boastfully stated: "oh, there's no charging- it's always at full power, because the outer synthesized tendrils absorb the electricity that naturally occurs along the body's neurological pathwa- _ **M**_ _ **H**_ _ **PT**_ _ **H**_ _ **H!**_ "

" _ **Idiot!"**_ Bakura hissed anxiously while keeping one hand firmly planted over his partner's mouth. " _We're not supposed to tell them about stuff like that!_ Have you completely forgotten your training?!"

"But he asked!"

Bakura blinked dully before turning to the two present-day youths. "...in case either of you two were wondering- he wasn't assigned to be the brains of this operation."

"HEY!"

The hickory-toned eyes of the homeowner's son flickered in realization. "So that means- you're being monitored by a group of people who're situated in the future... which means they already know everything you're going to do?"

Bakura felt a bit impressed by his near-clone's deductive reasoning skills. 'Rather clever, that one... shame he's on the Organization's sh*t-list...' "More or less. They definitely track all of our jumps. We're supposed to report back immediately following a successful mission, otherwise..." He took his index finger and made a quick motion across his throat. "And they wouldn't be slow about it- we'd basically have less than a few hours to solve a problem no-one else has managed to cure in over two hundred years."

"Not good odds." Malik admitted.

Ryou looked thoughtful. "You said the SID's draw power directly from your body- I'm guessing the tracking implants you mentioned use the same source? Then, what if you were to overload the circuits?"

"Genius idea, except you'd probably blow out your own heart." Bakura grimly tapped his own chest. "Don't forget, we're running on damaged goods here."

"Minimal... disruption..." Ryou began pacing the floor, with one hand on his chin. Malik watched with mild interest- he knew how his friend got when he was deep in thought.

The intruders both watched as the pacing youth hesitantly spoke. "Hmm... I think... the best thing would be something specifically designed to shock a person _without_ killing them..."

"Like my taser?" Malik helpfully interjected.  
"Yes, exactl- wait, _**what?!**_ " Ryou turned and stared incredulously at his now-grinning classmate. "Malik... are you saying _you_ have a _taser?!_ "

The blonde shrugged before whipping a heavy, black rectangle out of his right-front pants pocket. "Well technically, it's Ishizu's- you sounded so freaked out over the phone that I grabbed it from her purse before heading over here."

Ryou felt his emotions bubbling to a boil as he recalled their earlier struggles with the two 'burglars'. "And you didn't use it before... _**why?!"**_

The bronzed buddy shrugged. "I forgot I had it. Believe it or not, I don't usually make it a habit of electrocuting strangers."

Marik let out an amused snort, but Bakura seemed lost in thought. "That device... how much voltage does it use?"

"The label on the side says ''1,000 volts."

"That should be enough..."

" _More_ than enough." Marik pointed out rather bluntly. "Bakura, you could die."

"...Yes, true." The white-haired deviant snorted. "Still, I'd rather die making my _own_ decisions, rather than allowing some greedy butchers to enslave and eventually end me." He spoke the last few words of this declaration in a firm tone without pause.

"..." Ryou felt his face growing warm- he had to admit, the injured time-traveler's speech was highly impassioned. 'He's quite brave...'

"Ryou? _Ryou?_ "

"Oh!' The distracted teen quickly tore himself out of his thoughts. "Sorry, Malik."

The younger blonde raised an eyebrow at the delayed reaction, but didn't comment. "So, that's what'll help you guys? A quick shock?" Malik then flicked the switch, and a burst of blue light zapped instantly between the contact points.

The two trespassers eyed the electric device warily, flinching when Malik flipped the lid shut again.

Sensing the mood, Ryou quickly held out his arms to stop his over-eager companion from making a rash decision. "Hold on a second, Malik." The pale youth turned to the 'time-travelers'. "One major piece of this story still doesn't make sense. Given our genetic compatibility for your, erm, 'harvesting' demands; it's likely that we're related, right?"

Marik gave a single nod while Bakura spoke. "Distantly, yes. There's several generations between this decade and ours."

"But still-! If you kill us, then you two would never exist, right?!" Ryou frowned, wondering if the Organization wasn't playing a horrible trick on its unfortunate employees. "I mean, you'd be removing one of your ancestors from the time-line!"

"Not exactly." Bakura's blase response unnerved the two modern friends. "Family trees exactly don't follow a straight line- and evidently you're a pair of side-branches that can easily be pruned."

Marik nodded in casual agreement. "Besides, we've seen the historical charts- neither of you ever produces any children."

"Oh." Ryou's face flushed a bit at that line, but Malik only laughed.

"Not that surprising! Pretty sure it's impossible for two guys to get each other knocked up!"

" _MALIK!"_ Ryou embarrassedly admonished his loud-mouthed comrade.

Marik raised one eyebrow in disbelief. "You two... are sleeping with each other?!"

Bakura's face started turning green, and his left eye began twitching.

"NO! We're just both... alternative." Ryou's face now looked warm enough to spontaneously combust. "Supportive allies of each other."

"Besides, I'm waaaay out of his league." Malik winked as he playfully grabbed his friend's shoulder.

Ryou rolled his eyes, but made no comment.

Meanwhile, Bakura's own face slowly regained its usual pallor. "Oh, thank f***ing goodness." Ryou was too distracted to reprimand the foul-mouthed teen, but Marik seemed rather amused.

"Oh-ho? You sound awfully relieved there, Bakura." The darker time traveler wore a devious smirk as he teased his comrade. "~You're not crushing on your target, _are_ you?~"

"Wha-?! _**NO!**_ _"_ The more rough-voiced partner scowled. " _Newsflash_ , you dimwit: those two dorks _remind_ _you_ of anyone?!"

Marik glanced quizzically between the blonde and white-haired teens in front of them. After a moment of realization, his face turned green, and he made a strange 'urp'-ing noise.

"My reaction exactly." Bakura dryly remarked. "Anyway, it doesn't matter- we're not going to kill you now. Which means we need to move. We have to find someplace safer to stay, someplace we can keep out-of-sight for a while."

"Well, I do know-" Ryou tried to offered helpfully, but he was suddenly halted by Bakura's sharp interruption.

"NO. No close friends or family- they'll have all those addresses on file. Remember, the Organization isn't just a group of witless thugs; they're a massively wealthy corporation with the funds to gain any access to any resources necessary."

"AND they're hundreds of years in the future. So whatever we know, they'll know." Marik reaffirmed.

"Right." Bakura grimly continued with is explanation. "Which means everything has already happened- at least to them. They know of our betrayal, and they'll be sending some of our 'comrades' soon enough to finish us off."

The homeowner's son frowned and raised a hand to his chin. "So it has to be a place that's unexpected; something they can't definitively link to either of you..."

Malik immediately raised one eyebrow and grinned at Ryou, who promptly started choking in shock. "Wha- **no**! I know what you're thinking, Malik; and the answer is _NO_! Mr. Ishida entrusted me with gathering his newspapers- _that's all_!"

"But he _did_ give you a spare key, right?" The bronzed student prompted.

"In case of an _emergency_ , yes!" Ryou hastily argued.

"Trust me, this qualifies." Bakura added firmly. "Unless you don't consider us all being murdered

'emergency' material."

"..." Ryou was clearly less-than-enthused by the suggestion, but he soon realized that he couldn't offer a better solution. So he quietly waited as the others spoke.

 _'This is all beginning to seem too real... yet from the sound of everything these two 'time-travelers' have said, I'm really hoping that it's somehow **not**!'_


End file.
